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Celebrating Christmas: A Visit With St. Nicholas 圣诞老人，报上名来！

课文朗读

课文讲解

 繁體中文譯本

Birth of a Legend

Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, the Nativity of the babe in the manger whom Christians believe was the Son of God. Indeed, the very word Christmas means “Christ festival.”

圣诞节庆祝基督的出世──这名被基督徒视为上帝之子的婴儿在马槽里诞生。的确，「圣诞节」这个字眼指的正是「基督的庆典」。

Yet there can be little doubt that for many it is Santa Claus – not Jesus – who is the human face of Christmas. In fact, it is fair to say that in much of the world, Santa is better known than the Christ who gave his name to the holiday.

然而，对许多人而言，圣诞节的代表人物是圣诞老人而非耶稣，是没什么好怀疑的。事实上，这样说也不为过：在世界许多地方，圣诞老人要比赋予该节日名称的基督还更出名。

But now did the fat man in the Coca-Cola red-and-white suit become the symbol of Christmas? The truth is that like the Christmas story itself, the story of St. Nicolas is a composite of history, myth, and legend.

但是那个身穿可口可乐红白颜色服装的胖子又是如何成为圣诞节的象征？事实上，如同圣诞节本身的故事一般，圣者尼可拉斯的故事，也是由历史、神话与传说交织而成。

According to tradition, Nicholas was born in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) in about A.D. 270. When young, he traveled to Palestine and Egypt. Not long afterward, he became a bishop.

据传统说法，尼可拉斯在公元270年于小亚细亚出生（现今土耳其）。年轻时，他曾赴巴勒斯坦和埃及旅行。不久后，他成为一名主教。

During the Roman emperor Diocletian’s bloody persecution of Christians in 303, Nicholas was imprisoned. However, when Constantine the Great became emperor in 306, he legalized Christianity and made it the official religion of the Roman Empire. Nicholas was freed.

公元303年，罗马皇帝戴克里先血腥迫害基督徒期间，尼可拉斯被捕入狱。不过，公元306年康士坦丁大帝一登基为王，便让基督教合法，并将其尊为罗马帝国的国教。尼可拉斯也获释放。

The scribes tell us that Nicholas’s prayers and leadership during the great tribulation led many to become Christians. Nicholas continued to serve as bishop for many years. On December 6, 343, Nicholas the man died, and St. Nicholas the legend was born.

据史家说法，尼可拉斯在受难期间的祈祷和领导让很多人皈依成为基督徒。尼可拉斯续任主教多年。公元343年12月6日，凡人尼可拉斯去世，圣人尼可拉斯的传说于焉诞生。

Vocabulary

单词发音

legend [ˋlɛdʒənd] n. 传说；传奇故事

Christ [kraɪst] n. 基督

Nativity [nəˋtɪvətɪ] n.【文】出生，诞生

manger [ˋmendʒɚ] n. 马槽

very [ˋvɛrɪ] adj. 真正的, 真实的

composite [kəmˋpɑzɪt] n. 合成物

bishop [ˋbɪʃəp] n.（天主教及英国国教等的）主教

persecution [͵pɝsɪˋkjuʃən] n. 迫害，残害

scribe [skraɪb] n.（古代犹太教的）法律学家

tribulation [͵trɪbjəˋleʃən] n. 苦难，磨难

Sentence of the Day

The story traveled by word of mouth.

那个故事一传十、十传百。

课文讲解

A Legend Transformed

During his lifetime, Nicholas’s reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to stories of miracles he performed for the poor, the weak – and children. After his death, devotion to Nicholas extended to all parts of Europe. His feast day was celebrated on December 6, but his reputation as a gift-giver later became attached to the celebration of Christmas on December 25.

尼可拉斯在世时慷慨仁慈的名声造就了日后他在穷人、弱者和孩童身上行神迹的故事。尼可拉斯死后，人们对他的挚爱扩及欧洲各地。其节日仪式在12月6日举行，但是他身为「赠礼者」的名声，后来却与12月25日圣诞节的庆典连在一起。

After the Reformation in the sixteenth century, Nicholas’s cult disappeared in most Protestant countries of Europe. But his legend was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents. In England, he became known as Father Christmas. But in Holland, St. Nicholas’s name and reputation persisted as “Sinterklaas.”

16世纪宗教改革运动之后，对尼可拉斯的崇拜便在多数属于新教徒派的欧洲国家销声匿迹。但是有关他的传说却和一个北欧民间故事结合在一起，故事中有位魔术师会惩罚顽皮的孩子，送礼物奖励好孩子。在英格兰，尼可拉斯以「Father Christmas」之名为人所知。但在荷兰，圣者尼丁拉斯的名声则依旧沿用「Sinterklaas」。

In the seventeenth century, Dutch colonists took this tradition with them to America. Later, “Sinterklass” was adopted by the English-speaking majority as “Santa Claus.” The resulting image of a “Jolly old elf” driving a sleigh with “eight tiny reindeer” crystallized in the nineteenth century. That was when Clement Moore wrote the now-famous poem “A Visit From St. Nick.” And the red-and –white suit? That was created by a Coca-Cola adman in the 1930s.

17世纪，荷兰的殖民者将这个传统带到美洲。之后，「Sinterklaas」改以「Santa Claus」之名，为说英语的大多数人所接纳。此流传至今的形象──「快乐的老矮人」驾着「八只小驯鹿」拉的雪橇──在19世纪成型。克莱门穆尔(Clement Moore)即在当时写了「圣者尼可的来访」这首现今驰名的诗。至于红白服装呢？那是在1930年代，由可口可乐的广告业者创造出来的。

Although greatly commercialized, the modern Santa Claus still embodies St. Nicholas’s generosity and love for children. And for some, he still points to the Nativity of the babe in the manger, and reminds us of the reason we celebrate Christmas.

尽管被高度商业化，现代的圣诞老人仍旧具体表现了圣者尼可拉斯的慷慨与对孩子们的爱。对某些人来说，圣诞节指的仍是马槽里圣婴的诞生，也让我们想起庆祝圣诞节的缘由。

－End

Vocabulary

单词发音

transform [trænsˋfɔrm] v. 改变；改观

give rise to 引起 to cause something to exist

devotion [dɪˋvoʃən] n. 挚爱，热爱[U][（+to/for）]

feast [fist] n.（宗教上的）祭日，节日

Reformation [͵rɛfɚˋmeʃən] n.（大写）（十六世纪欧洲的）宗教改革运动[the S]

cult [kʌlt] n.（对人、思想、事物等的）狂热崇拜，迷信；狂热

Protestant [ˋprɑtɪstənt] n. 新教徒

Nordic [ˋnɔrdɪk] adj. 北欧人的

folktale [ˋfok͵tel] n. 民间故事，传说

jolly [ˋdʒɑlɪ] adj. 快活的，高兴的

elf [ɛlf] n.（神话中）淘气的小鬼，小精灵

sleigh [sle] n.（轻便）雪橇

crystallize [ˋkrɪst!͵aɪz] v. 成形；具体化

adman [ˋædmən] n.【俚】广告撰写（或编排）人；广告商

embody [ɪmˋbɑdɪ] v. 体现，使具体化

Sentence of the Day

Let’s make merry!

我们去寻欢作乐吧！

A Visit From St Nicholas By Clement Clark Moore

1 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house,
2 Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
3 The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
4 In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
5 The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
6 While visions of sugar plums danc'd in their heads,
7 And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
8 Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap-
9 When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
10 I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
11 Away to the window I flew like a flash,
12 Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.
13 The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,
14 Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below;
15 When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
16 But a minature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer,
17 With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
18 I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
19 More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
20 And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name:
21 "Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer, and Vixen,
22 "On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Dunder and Blixem;
23 "To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
24 "Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
25 As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
26 When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
27 So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
28 With the sleigh full of Toys - and St. Nicholas too:
29 And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
30 The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
31 As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
32 Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound:
33 He was dress'd all in fur, from his head to his foot,
34 And his clothes were all tarnish'd with ashes and soot;
35 A bundle of toys was flung on his back,
36 And he look'd like a peddler just opening his pack:
37 His eyes - how they twinkled! his dimples how merry,
38 His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry;
39 His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
40 And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
41 The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
42 And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
43 He had a broad face, and a little round belly
44 That shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly:
45 He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
46 And I laugh'd when I saw him in spite of myself;
47 A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
48 Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
49 He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
50 And fill'd all the stockings; then turn'd with a jerk,
51 And laying his finger aside of his nose
52 And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
53 He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
54 And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:
55 But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight-
56 Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.